We are pleased to announce that after conducting a process to find a minister focused on care and community engagement, Rev. T. J. Fitzgerald will be joining us in August. During his one year contract, T. J. will be focused on developing engagement within the church and beyond, preaching and helping the ministerial team plan and conduct worship. Please join us in welcoming T. J. when he arrives in August!
Rev. T. J. FitzGerald is excited for the opportunity to serve First Unitarian of Dallas as the Minister of Community Care and Community Engagement. For the last five years he served First Unitarian Church of Honolulu as their minister. In that time he guided the church’s participation in initiatives around voting rights, wealth inequality, and reform of the state’s incarceration system. He was humbled to serve annually as the minister to the community that gathers for the statewide Transgender Day of Remembrance, and he works closely with persons seeking asylum in the migration process. His recent book, Together Again: Reconstructing a Life of Meaning, focuses on what the time of the pandemic might help to show us about our values and was an “Amazon #1 Best Seller” in Faith and Spirituality.
T.J. grew up in Plano, TX and attended Schimelpfenig Middle School and Shepton High (for a short period). He holds a degree in theater from SUNY Stony Brook and a law degree from SUNY Buffalo School of Law. He practiced intellectual property law in New York City before answering the call to ministry. He received his Masters of Divinity from Yale Divinity School and served at The Riverside Church in the City of New York and First Unitarian Church of Portland before serving in Honolulu.
T. J. is passionate about helping people connect their values to the actions they take in the world. He is humbled by the opportunity to serve First Unitarian of Dallas, a congregation so widely known for living out its values so publicly in a time of increasing hostility to those values. He is dedicated to supporting the emotional and spiritual life of the congregation while also helping to strengthen its powerful voice in the wider community.
T. J. enjoys live theater, film, science fiction, and detective stories of all kinds. He is a lifelong New York Mets fan and enjoys jogging.